Kata as part of an oral tradition

 This way of looking at karate is influenced heavily by Walter Ong’s Orality and Literacy (1982) and Lynne Kelly’s Power and Knowledge in Prehistoric Societies (2015) and The Memory Code (2016).  What follows is where my thoughts on kata's purpose and structure have gone, based on the issues and concepts these texts cover. 

Kata were created within the context of oral knowledge traditions as a means to retain, recall and transmit knowledge. They are a tool, a vehicle through which knowledge is conveyed, rather than being the knowledge itself.   Having said that, in order to use them effectively, we also need to have knowledge of the kata itself and the ability to recall and demonstrate it/run through it automatically and faithfully.

In this regard, kata are a mnemonic device, with particular structure and knowledge features.  They:

• Are memory prompts - they do not demonstrate/shadow-box complete sequences of movement, just those bits that need recall or are the most important for successful application of a technique.  The technique/s needed to be trained first.

• Contain primarily those things that are not everyday/common knowledge, as these don’t need transmission/recall because everyone does them/trains them anyway.  They are incomplete in what they show.

• As a result, the knowledge they contain is partial - it (deliberately) needs other information/context added to it to become functional/complete.

• Are not necessarily linear - the start of a kata is not always the start of a conflict and the sequence of a kata is not necessarily a chronologically sequential ‘fight’

• Can be thematic - the corollary of which is that different kata may need to be interpreted in different ways as they express different themes.

• Can be used to store new information than they were created to contain.  Techniques that have a similar shape or similar feeling to part of a kata can be mentally ‘mapped’ to the kata’s movement, creating a new prompt for that place in the sequence.  Some implications of this are that kata…

• Have layers of meaning, and that each individual will have some shared and some unique layers when using the kata as a retention/recall tool.  When they use the same kata as a tool of transmission, they may emphasise different layers to their students potentially creating multiple, different understandings from the same kata in subsequent generations

• In order to operate as a memory prompt they need to be thoroughly learned so that their performance is automatic and consistent.

Additionally, the nature of oral knowledge systems (as culled from Ong and Kelly) affects the nature of kata:

• Because knowledge has value/provides power, it is not universally shared, but is gatekept.  Kata were structured so that key parts of the knowledge they hold is coded and only those who are permitted are given the key.

• Just as there can be more than one layer of meaning to a kata, there can be more than one method of coding in any one kata.

• Similarly, each kata may have its own particular system of coding (cf. the quipus of the Incas and the unique private coding systems that each person had in addition to the common codings).  The implication is that unless all the kata in a system come from the same source, they may have different ways of needing to be interpreted.

• Because knowledge is gatekept, there may be more than one version of a kata and the gatekeeper may only transmit all versions (and the knowledge they code for) to a limited and deliberately chosen number of individuals.

• Similarly, because each individual can develop their own private coding and map their own layers, each person can have/develop more than one version of each kata they know.  And the beauty of it is that whenever they practise one version, they are recalling/refreshing all versions (and therefore the attendant coded knowledge they all contain).

• Some kata may be related to and dependent on other kata to make sense of their content/coding.  Sanchin kata, for instance, teaches the body structure and power generation necessary for Seisan, Sanseiru and Superinpei to operate, as signified by their common starting sequence.

• Kata are a ritual - they do not need to look like the thing they are being used to recall - they just need to provide a distinctive ‘hook’ to hang that memory/knowledge from.  But, as the knowledge that is being attached is kinaesthetic, then having a similarity between ritual and knowledge will aid in its retention and improve its ability.  So the coding cannot be too abstract or different from the knowledge it is trying to hide.

• Kata that are not linear may be modular - the order in which techniques are performed is not critical, provided all modules are included in the overall sequence. However as a ritual, consistency of performance is important for fidelity of retention/transmission of knowledge by any one individual.

• Oral knowledge is often best retained and transmitted through multiple pathways.  Kata names, the use of poems and songs, poetic names for techniques or names that reference legends/gods/stories/animals that have their own qualities attached (“attack the enemy’s camp from on high”, “monkey steals a peach”) rather than prescriptive names (“block”, “punch”), the path travelled in performing the kata (its enbusen), are all additional methods that can intertwine with kata performance and assist in the retention and recall of knowledge.

• Oral traditions use stories - foundation stories, myths and tales of legendary forebears to transmit key knowledge. The truth/veracity of the stories is not important - the message they contain is.  Karate is resplendent with these tales about previous masters and founders.

Of course, use as a mnemonic ritual is not the only way that kata are used.  It may not even be the primary purpose of a particular kata, especially for most modern kata (or modern iterations of classical kata).   There is also the high likelihood that most classical kata were designed with multiple purposes in mind, with which particular purpose is the most important one changing from kata to kata (or time to time) and thus affecting what movements the kata contains and how they are performed.  Even within a kata, some parts may have a primary mnemonic focus, while others may have a conditioning primary focus and yet others a structural focus.

Some of the other purposes of kata include:

• Training power generation and body structure (the tanren kata such as sanchin)

• Teaching basic movements (the kihon-gata such as taikyoku or gekisai)

• Emphasising important sections of technique

• Practising “effort” rather than being a literal rendition of a sequence of movement

• Shadow-boxing combinations

• Body conditioning

Each of these, dependent on the emphasis placed on it, will affect the outward shape of a kata, and the manner in which it is performed.  This may make it more difficult to decode a kata, particularly if the additional use is added in at a later stage or by someone who did not construct the original kata.